A 45-storey waterfront tower designed by famed architect Bruce Kuwabara took a step closer to fruition Tuesday, with Hamilton city council’s planning committee agreeing on a process to move it forward — despite some local objections it will block sight lines of the water, be incompatible with nearby industry and set a precedent for tall buildings that could turn the local waterfront into the “plugged” skylines of Toronto and Burlington.

The tower would be located in the northwest corner of the parcel of Pier 8 being developed into a new community, partially covering the land that is currently the skating rink parking lot. Kuwabara, who grew up in the North End neighbourhood where the development is located, told the committee that a 30-storey tower is expected to abut the taller building on that parcel of land.

“I am determined this is going to be a very good building,” he said, describing an aerodynamic cylinder where designers “distinguish the top [and] really articulate the shaft… One of the things I am committed to is comfort in the pedestrian realm. It’s a very windy site.”

The towers are part of a larger development across the pier that will see a total of 1,645 dwellings built in a new community between Guise Street and the Hamilton Harbour. If the 45 storeys are approved – a decision the committee will finalize down the road – that will make space for more family-sized units of two bedrooms or larger across the development, said James Webb, a land-use planner working with the city and Kuwabara’s firm KPMB on the project.

If approved, the building would become the tallest in Hamilton. Downtown apartment building Landmark Place has 43 storeys and sits at a slightly higher elevation, so the new building will in fact appear to be two metres lower.

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